Construction crews have steadily been transforming the nostalgic Holiday Inn building, located on historic Route 66, into the Ramada Kingman resort. The original hotel opened in 1966 to much fanfare as chain hotels emerged across the nation as most traveler's choice for reliable service. The project has included a full remodel of the exterior & interior of the hotel along with the addition of Canyon 66 Restaurant & Lounge. The resort has also partnered with popular tourist attractions, such as the Grand Canyon Skywalk and the Grand Canyon Caverns, to offer vacation packages. The new owners are philanthropists who have sponsored a variety of community events including the Mohave County Fair and the Bluegrass Festival. They've supported local youth sports teams including the Kingman Bulldogs. Their efforts have also benefited local non-profit groups and charities. We're thankful for their investment in Kingman, Arizona!
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Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) opened a chain of airports in 1929 linking New York and Los Angeles with 48-hour access by a mix of air and rail travel. Kingman was chosen as an airport along this route and Port Kingman was opened. The airline was promoted by notable figures including Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart who landed the first flights into Port Kingman on July 8, 1929. The airport operated on and off as the airline sold & merged until it permanently closed in the late 1940s. The main airport terminal building was remodeled into a home. The building, located off Bank Street and Sycamore Avenue, is now used as a business office:
We've got multiple projects in the works and need awesome volunteers to help make them a reality! We are going to start offering FREE downtown tours to help make the historic district a tourist attraction. We're also hoping to have a team of volunteers help with research & paperwork to get more buildings/homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We're marketing this effort in partnership with KingmanTravel.com, a new website we've developed to help market local attractions, restaurants, bars, and hotels to tourists. We also need volunteers to help plan the Rock On 66 Festival! Whether your experienced in organizing events or looking to help for the first time we hope you'll join in. We're also searching for talented musicians (and some variety talent acts) along with vendors. This event will be free to the public and we'll be seeking donations from local businesses in exchange for sponsorship opportunities. Call Tim Gannaway at (928)362-8966 or email [email protected] to get involved!
London Bridge was built in 1831 to cross River Thames in London. The bridge engineer, John Rennie, had also designed sister-bridges to the London Bridge, such as Waterloo Bridge which is still used to cross River Thames in London today. The bridge was continually used until 1967 when the City of London decided to replace it with a larger capacity bridge and closed the structure. Robert P. McCulloch was born in Missouri and inherited a fortune from his grandfather. He started a company that created and sold a variety of motors from chainsaws to race cars. He needed a location to test boat motors and purchased a 3,500 acre water-front plot in Mohave County, Arizona named "Site Six" that had been part of the nearby Kingman Army Airfield development during WWII. He later purchased an additional 26-square miles of land (the largest land transaction up to that time in Arizona) that would become Lake Havasu City. A canal was constructed through the land and a bridge was needed. He paid nearly $2.5 million for the London Bridge which was sold at auction. The bridge slabs were transported through the Panama Canal to a port in Long Beach, California. The slabs were then trucked to the present location and reassembled. The reassembly was completed in 1971. Even the Mayor of London attended the grand opening celebration. The city was named after the the Mojave (native inhabitants) word for "blue water" - Havasu. McCulloch had a private airport and would fly in visitors free of charge. He continued marketing his real estate development until his death in 1977. His dedication paid off as Lake Havasu City was incorporated as an official city in 1978.
St. Johns Methodist Church started construction in May 1889 at the southwest corner of 5th & Spring Street. The building, including furniture, cost $2,500 at the time to finish. The building served well for nearly 30 years but in 1916 a new committee was formed to direct the construction of a larger new church. The existing church was purchased by J.B. Wright & Raymond Carr. It was relocated to the end of Spring on 6th Street and remodeled into the "Church Apartments." The apartments suffered a fire in the 1920s but the building was salvaged and remade into a single family residence. The building is rarely mentioned again in the museum or newspaper archives. That is until an article appeared in the Kingman Daily Miner on April 5, 1991. The article commemorated the church's history during the groundbreaking of the current St. Johns United Methodist Church on Kino Avenue. The article claims that the house is still being used, at least in 1991, as a residence in Kingman. The building would have already been over 100 years old by this time. Unfortunately records show that the building currently located where the "Church Apartments" should be was built in 1950. So whatever happened to the old St. Johns? If you know please send an email to [email protected]! Special thanks to Jackie Snyder (with Mohave Museum Of History And Arts) for her help with this article.
JC Penney was one of the first national chains to open in Kingman when they built a new store downtown in 1951. The store operated for nearly 50 years until the mid-1990s when they opened a larger location on Stockton Hill. The current owner purchased the building in 2013 from the City of Kingman which had been using the facility as office space. Renovations are well underway on the building with plans to transform the former store into a top-notch events center called Beale Celebrations. Plans call for most work to be completed sometime by April. The facility will include the large grand ballroom, a smaller breakout room, and kitchen facilities that can be used in partnership with a local caterer. Once completed the building will be able to host a variety of events from banquets & parties to concerts or receptions. Special thanks to Jamie Taylor (with Just Marketing) for her help with this article.
Preparation started for the house in 1908 as the carpenter precisely cut California redwood, delivered to Kingman by train, and painstakingly marked each board for placement. The house was one of several developed by the Lovin & Withers Company. Construction was finally completed on the home in 1911 and purchased by George R. Kayser. George Kayser was one of Kingman's earliest prominent residents. He was involved in the ranching industry owning multiple ranches across Mohave County. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Special thanks To Sandra Gaumond (with Kingman Premier Properties) & The Gaddis Family for their help with this article.
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